Wine Country

We had family in town from Ohio so we ventured west on I-80 to the Napa Valley for wine tasting, picnicking and sightseeing. We loaded up on sandwiches and chips at Safeway in Napa and drove north on Highway 29 where our first stop was the iconic Robert Mondavi Winery. It had been years, but I remember how my wife and I dropped in here when we were newly married in the 1980s. The grounds were immaculate and so was the sense of the good life in California, in the pairing of good wine and good food. This is a feel good place, carrying on Mondavi taste, which is now part of a giant global corporation.

Redwoods

Having moved to California 35 years ago I know it's nearly impossible to take a great picture of redwoods. They're too big, too much. You have to capture them in your mind. Not so, however, the great outdoor furniture and walking infrastructure that accompanies them in places like Muir Woods National Monument north of San Francisco. When we visited recently I was taken by the four bridges spanning the gently running creek that meanders through the woods, the wooden plank walking trails and the fencing that keeps you where the rangers want you. A lovely place for looking up, down or  straight ahead on the trail.

A Beach House for Climate Change

We visited Stinson Beach recently in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area north of San Francisco. Here's a beach house ready for storm surges and sea-level rise, estimated at up to five or more feet by 2100, according to a National Research Council assessment for the State of California. Surf's up!

London Calling

I was off to Beer's Books recently in dowtown Sacramento to buy a calendar for my wife, and their always-ecclectic selection of the offbeat proved a winner for 2014. Walking up from a different direction than usual I discovered this lovely mural of California writer Jack London. (Car included)

The mural, finished in 2009, is by Sacramento artist/writer Stephanie Taylor. Another great contribution of pedestrian art to blank walls in Sacramento.

City Center

A few of us in the office made a trip this week via I-80 and the El Cerrito Del Norte BART station to Oakland City Center at 1111 Broadway. The topic was sea-level rise, conducted in a lawyers' conference room high above the city. Some pictures downstairs on a quiet morning early December:

Looking back toward the entrance with a Peet's latte' in my possession.

'Tis the season in office buildings near and far.

Business 

Get me a laptop, coffee and a good book. I could live here.

Oasis in the City

The day before Thanksgiving I walked into Westminister Presbyterian at Capitol Park to take in part of the Music at Noon series, this one featuring harpsichordist Faythe Vollrath. I left the church to resume a walk in the park and noticed people looking inside the patio next to the church. Very classical and inviting urban oasis, home to many weddings.

Social Media

Forget Yelp and Groupon. Give me the old-fashioned sandwich board on a city street. I like a colorful making the case for lunch. Here are a few boards I've seen recently in the vicinity of the state Capitol. I'll add more as I find them  -  one gem in particular that I've seen on L Street, advancing the cause for "peace and cookies on earth."

Philosophy

Hot soup, flatbread pizza

Note Dog Friendly Patio.

Here's our "Peace and cookies on earth."

....and 30 flavors of Italian soda

Cheerful, colorful - Trader Joe's in the suburbs